“Following routine analyses conducted under the analytical water control plan of the municipality of Aljezur, the responsible laboratory reported the detection of non-pneumophila legionella in some showers of the municipal swimming pool changing rooms,” announced the local government.
The detection of the bacterium in the analyses prompted the Aljezur City Hall to temporarily close the municipal swimming pools to “safeguard public health,” explained the municipality in the Faro district, without estimating how long the facility might remain unavailable.
The bacterium in question spreads through water and can cause symptoms such as fever, cough, or breathing difficulties if it infects humans. Consequently, the implementation of “procedures provided for in Ordinance No. 25/2021, of January 29” has been initiated, emphasized Aljezur City Hall.
Ordinance No. 25/2021, of January 29, establishes “the risk classification and the minimum measures to be adopted by those responsible for the equipment, networks, and systems (…) based on the risk assessment of contamination and dissemination of the legionella bacterium resulting from the analytical results obtained within the water monitoring and treatment program.”
The ordinance requires those responsible for the affected equipment or networks to ensure “the necessary measures to guarantee water quality at the points of use, minimizing the risk of exposure” to the bacterium.
These measures follow “European and international standards,” including the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Water Safety Plans, as stated in the ordinance.
The municipality also noted that procedures will be carried out “in consultation with the Public Health Authority.”
